Buchalter Expands in Northern California

Welcomes New Attorneys in San Francisco and Sacramento Offices

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 13, 2017 – Buchalter is pleased to announce that Matthew S. Covington and Jeffrey M. Hamerling have joined the San Francisco office, and Alissa Pleau-Fuller has joined the Sacramento office. All are members of the Litigation Practice Group and joined from Archer Norris. Prior to Archer Norris, both Covington and Hamerling were Partners with DLA Piper. Buchalter also announced that it added an attorney in San Francisco to its Insolvency & Financial Law Practice, Jeannie Kim.

As a result of their industry acumen, both Covington and Hamerling devote significant portions of their practices to petroleum companies, focusing on franchise, distribution, commercial and environmental matters. Both are also known for their experience with the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act, having handled cases that established major precedents in the petroleum retail industry.

“Matt and Jeff bring impressive resumes having extensive experience representing petroleum company clients in complex environmental matters,” said Adam J. Bass, President and Chief Executive Officer of Buchalter. “We have been looking to expand our representation of this industry for quite some time, and Matt, Jeff and Lisa are a great cultural fit.”

Covington is a member of the American Bar Association’s sections on Litigation Environmental Law. Covington earned his J.D. cum laude at Harvard Law School in 1991, and received his B.A. with honors from Stanford University in 1988.

Hamerling is a member of the American Bar Association’s Environmental Law and Natural Resources subsection. He is also a member of the San Francisco Bar Association and serves on the Board of Directors for Contra Costa Legal Services. Hamerling received his J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law and his B.A. with honors from the University of California, Berkeley.

“I’m thrilled at the opportunity to join the firm during such an exciting time at Buchalter, and add our experience and expertise to the already exceptional capabilities the firm offers its clients,” said Matt. “I look forward to continuing to grow our practice with the impressive platform Buchalter provides.”

In February of this year, Buchalter opened a Sacramento office which has grown to 14 attorneys with the addition of Pleau-Fuller. Pleau-Fuller focuses her practice on serving the litigation needs of franchisors, including petroleum marketing companies. She has also worked on matters involving refinery and cogeneration facilities. Pleau-Fuller received her J.D. from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law with distinction in 2008, her M.B.A. from California State University, Sacramento in 2004, and her B.A. from the University of California, Davis in 2000.

Prior to joining Buchalter, Kim served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Deborah J. Saltzman, United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Central District of California, Riverside and as a judicial extern to the Honorable Maureen A. Tighe, United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Central District of California, San Fernando Valley Division, and the Honorable Carla M. Woehrle, United States Magistrate Judge, Central District of California, Western Division. She earned her J.D. at Loyola Law School, Postgraduate Diploma in International Political Thought from the University of St. Andrews, and her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

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Buchalter is a full-service business law firm representing local, regional, national, and international clients in a multitude of practice areas and their subspecialties, among them: Bank and Finance, Corporate, Health Care, Litigation, Insolvency and Financial Law, Intellectual Property, Labor and Employment, Real Estate, and Tax and Estate Planning. Buchalter has offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Sacramento, and Scottsdale. For more information about the firm, visit: buchalter.com.

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